Metaphorical Framings in Market Discourse Ignacio Luri, University of Arizona, USA Hope Schau, University of Arizona, USA Bikram P Ghosh, University of Arizona, USA

ASSOCIATION FOR CONSUMER RESEARCH Labovitz School of Business & Economics, University of Minnesota Duluth, 11 E. Superior Street, Suite 210, Duluth, MN 55802 Metaphorical Framings in Market Discourse Ignacio Luri, University of Arizona, USA Hope Schau, University of Arizona, USA Bikram P Ghosh, University of Arizona, USA Few products have the economic importance of debt. With the solutions to student debt as cornerstones of presidential campaigns, firms and influencers are in dialectic battle over defining the future of the industry. Employing textual analysis on a large news database, we study how metaphors frame issues in public discourse. [to cite]: Ignacio Luri, Hope Schau, and Bikram P Ghosh (2020) ,"Metaphorical Framings in Market Discourse", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 48, eds. Jennifer Argo, Tina M. Lowrey, and Hope Jensen Schau, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 1069-1068. [url]: http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/2662632/volumes/v48/NA-48 [copyright notice]: This work is copyrighted by The Association for Consumer Research. For permission to copy or use this work in whole or in part, please contact the Copyright Clearance Center at http://www.copyright.com/. Say It Like You Mean It: Revealing Market Narratives through Text Analysis Chair: Ignacio Luri, DePaul University, USA Paper #1: Analyzing Brand Backstories: Combining Textual they borrow from a range of theories including narratology, concep- and Multi-sensory Data tual metaphor theory, rituals and identity projects, or diffusion the- Cristel Russell, Pepperdine University, USA ory. This session will facilitate scholarly discussion of the complex interplay between markets and discourses. A big theme in it guiding Paper #2: Rituals in Rap: Remaking the Road to Riches the session and discussion with the audience will be the performative Tonya Bradford, University of California Irvine, USA aspect of discourses or, in other words, how industries, firms, con- Courtney Jemison, University of California Irvine, USA sumers “fake it till they make it”, slowly creating a reality (a back- Paper #3: Metaphorical Framings in Market Discourse story, public consensus, wealth, a practice) by telling it. Jointly, we Ignacio Luri, DePaul University, USA anticipate sparking conversation around questions such as: 1) how Hope Schau, University of Arizona, USA does a historical view of a specific market discourse (i.e. longitudi- Bikram Ghosh, University of Arizona, USA nal, etymological, heritage or origin stories) inform understanding Paper #4: Written in the Sand: Tracing Practice Diffusion of current discourses? 2) how can industries, firms and consumers Across Time and Space utilize these frameworks to strategically tell their stories? We ex- Melissa Archpru Akaka, University of Denver, USA pect lively audience participation and involvement based around the Hope Schau, University of Arizona, USA timeliness and relevance of the contexts and methods, as well as the eclectic theoretical perspectives. SESSION OVERVIEW In this session, we present four empirical papers that, in addition Analyzing Brand Backstories: Combining Textual and to sharing text analysis as a methodological tool, explore the power Multi-sensory Data of narratives. The contexts studied range from market perceptions of debt to brand backstories, and from the diffusion of surfing to rap EXTENDED ABSTRACT lyrics. Each of these four papers utilizes a longitudinal dataset to Brand managers strategically construct brand backstories from study evolving market stories, as told by firms, news media, rap art- a curated set of facts, signs, symbols, with accompanying evidentiary ists or surfers. The researchers in this session share the conviction support that, when knitted together, provide the firm’s official narra- that discourses in the market represent and construct reality. To study tive of the brand’s origins, including novel insights and revelations them, we engage in diverse forms of text analysis, widely consid- regarding the early days of the brand. Our research question is: How ered a next frontier in marketing research (Berger et al. 2020), that can analysis of multi-sensory archival data reveal how practitioners include theme-coding, content analysis, and automated text analysis. design the backstory, curating brand materials to offer the ‘real’, ‘au- Beyond a shared focus on textual data and analysis, these projects thentic’ story and the ultimate ‘truth’ about the brand? use a variety of data sources and theoretical lenses to contribute to This multi-year, multi-country project focuses on the growing our understanding of how narratives represent and drive the market. practice of the brand backstory, whereby firms grant consumers ac- The presentations will dive deep into the everyday conversations of cess to facts about the brand origins, ‘private’ backstage information. each topic to uncover the subtext behind everyday language and how Often brand backstories unfold in the home of the brand (its head- it reflects deeper realities in the market. quarters or factory) or an authoritative institution, such as a museum. The first presentation examines how brand managers strategi- These sites (headquarters, factory, museum) frame the backstory, im- cally construct brand backstories from a curated set of facts, signs, buing it with an aura of authenticity that bolsters the firm’s authorial symbols, that provide the firm’s official narrative of the brand’s ori- voice. gins. The authors reveal how practitioners design the backstory, cu- We draw on graphic narrative theory, a narratology theory rating brand materials to offer the ‘real’, ‘authentic’ story and the grounded in the study of graphic novels and comics (bandes dessi- ultimate ‘truth’ about the brand. The next presentation focuses on the nées) and which allows a fuller understanding of storytelling via important topic of wealth disparities and the non-linear narratives of words and images. In particular, Thierry Groensteen’s work on the poverty and wealth. Rap music has had a fascination with these nar- System of Comics provides a novel lens through which we can inte- ratives, and their lyrics negotiate and link both ends. Though spend- grate visual, verbal, spatial, and chronological expressions in narra- ing rituals are prominent in hip-hop lyrics, the authors explore how tive analysis. We share the insights gained from our ongoing analysis hip-hop lyrics also may encourage engagement in wealth creation of four brand backstories. Our experience unearthed the challenges rituals. The third presentation explores the timely topic of personal of incorporating visual and other sensory data in primarily text-cen- debt, attempting to uncover how the media constructs the percep- tered consumer research and signals the need for narrative theories tion of debt and what it does for/to people in society. Employing a and rhetorical tools to supplement automated text analyses. variety of automated textual analysis on a large news database, the Our data consist of brand materials across four brand backsto- authors study in particular the role of metaphors framing issues in ries (an entertainment brand, two fast moving consumer good brands public discourse. The final presentation explores the dispersion of an and a nonprofit organization) that varied in the type of spatial brand indigenous practice, surfing, revealing that practice diffusion occurs backstory on offer (museum exhibit, factory tour and corporate head- through practice codification, transposition, and adaptation. quarter exhibit), in the duration (one time event and ongoing) and We structure the session as a series of four empirical presenta- location of the backstory (offsite museum and brand headquarters) tions tied to the theme of market narratives and linked by a method- as well as in the number and type of creators involved in the design ological focus on text. Each presentation will be 12 minutes leaving of the backstory (multiple creators all not members of the brand- 20-25 minutes for discussion and debate. While all the presentations owning firm vs. a sole creator employed by the brand-owning firm). have implications for market creation, public policy, and branding, Practitioners approached for this project shared not only their views Advances in Consumer Research 1069 Volume 48, ©2020 1070 / Say It Like You Mean It: Revealing Market Narratives through Text Analysis and insights on their involvement with the brand backstory but also overcoming such differences. Art serves a functional purpose within access to historical documents and curatorial practices such as back- the African American community (French 2017; Karenga [1972] story creation manifestos or documentation describing the project 1997). Rap, a musical art form embedded in hip-hop culture, was scope of the brand backstories. once a marginal influence and has emerged as a prominent global Our data consist of in-depth qualitative with practitioners re- socialization force (French 2017; Lena 2006; Motley and Henderson sponsible for crafting and promoting brand backstories for the en- 2008). Motley and Henderson (2008; p. 243) note “Hip-hop culture tertainment brand Outrageous Fortune (OF), the sole creator for the influences styles of behavior…” factory tour of Herr’s Snacks, four practitioners for the headquarters Prior research identifies hip-hop influences on brand consump- of Girl Scouts USA, five for the Calissons du Roy Rene, a specialty tion (Burkhalter and Thornton 2014; Ferguson and Burkhalter

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